Vaccination for mumps

A double dose of mumps vaccine can be better than a single one in preventing and treating mumps. Mumps is an acute viral illness that causes painful enlargement of the parotid glands. These glands are located in front and below the ears and produce saliva or spit. After an episode of mumps, one never gets the disease again and the attack provides life long immunity. However, for children who have not had mumps, vaccines are available that protect against them. Despite the high vaccination rates, an outbreak of mumps occurred 2 years back among 541 children from the US and abroad. Researchers at the New York State Department of Health, Albany conducted a study on this outbreak. In this study, patients with mumps were interviewed and serologic analysis was conducted for 6 case patients. Vaccine effectiveness was calculated by retrospective review of immunisation records for 507 attendees who were eligible for vaccination and had verified immunization history. The results indicated that the vaccine effectiveness is better when two mumps vaccinations are given rather than one. Of the 541 children, 31 were diagnosed with mumps, for an overall attack rate of 5.7 percent. Of the 507 children who had their immunisation history available, 440, including 16 who became ill, had received two doses of the mumps vaccine, for an attack rate of 3.6 percent. Forty-six children, including 4 who became ill, had received one dose, for an attack rate of 8.7 percent. Of the 21 children who were not vaccinated, 9 became ill, for an attack rate of 42.9 percent. The vaccine effectiveness was calculated to be 91.6 percent after two doses and 79.7 percent after one dose. Thus, a double dose of mumps vaccine combined with correct diagnosis and strict control measures can be effective in preventing and controlling the disease.